Next Generation Angels Awards

Next Generation Angels Awards

Award Type: Student documentary film award

Purpose: Recognizes excellence in well-researched history filmmaking by middle and high school students in the model of Ken Burns. Awards honor six short documentaries about history made by student filmmakers.

Eligibility:

Middle school students (grades 6-8) — Junior Division

High school students (grades 9-12) — Senior Division

Documentary films about history themes

Award Structure:

Six student winners annually (three per division)

First Place, Second Place, and Third Place in each division

Recognition:

All winning student films receive copyright

Films preserved in perpetuity at Library of Congress

Winners featured at annual Student History Film Festival

Mentorship sessions with Ken Burns

Mentorship with Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize finalists

Professional development opportunities

"Students Teach the Teachers" professional development event

Program Components:

Annual Student History Documentary Film Festival

Virtual screening and panel discussions (Q&A with students and teachers)

"Students Teach the Teachers" sessions where student winners explain their research process

Educational materials and curriculum guidance provided

Documentary Filmmaking Residencies:

Regional partnerships (e.g., Philadelphia Film Society)

10 in-class lessons in participating schools

Students create history documentary films

Showcase opportunities at local film centers

Opportunity to enter films in National History Day competitions (local, state, and national levels)

Partner:

National History Day® (NHD)

The Better Angels Society

Regional film societies (e.g., Philadelphia Film Society)

Funding Partner:

John and Jessica Fullerton (sponsors)

Recent Winners:

2023 Winners:

Junior Division: Elayna Weintz (Listen, World: How Elsie Robinson Changed American Newspapers); Jay Patel (Pearl Kendrick, The Pioneering Researcher Who Ended a Deadly Plague); Maia Lim Laurie (The Papunya Tula Art Movement)

Senior Division: Abigail Giroux (Wade in the Water: How African Americans Got Back Into the Pool); additional winners noted

2021 Winners:

Senior Division: Sasha Allen (Don't Believe Your Eyes: How Visual Media Built the Cult of Stalin); Ryan Seun Woo Kwon (The Korean Diaspora: Reunion of Separated Families Through Media Communication); Melinda Chen (Oklahoma! The Dawn of a Beautiful Morning for Storytelling in Musical Theatre)

Junior Division: Claire Flynn (Clearing the Air: How John Hersey Communicated Hiroshima Survivors' Stories to the World); Madeline Rong (Norman Rockwell: Communicating Racial Inequality Through Art); Luke Morris (Hetch Hetchy: Constructing the Framework for Modern Environmentalism)

Educational Materials:

Documentary filmmaking curriculum available

Guidance on concept development

Archival research methods

Artistic process in filmmaking

Available on The Better Angels Society website

Contact:

The Better Angels Society

5185 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 570

Washington, DC 20016

Phone: 202-809-9976

Website: thebetterangelssociety.org